


Ont krut

by AnUnhealthyDoseOfAngst



Category: Vikings (TV)
Genre: Ableism, Canon Disabled Character, Crime boss!Ivar, Disabled Character, F/F, F/M, Organized Crime, Paralympic swimmer!Ayo, Racism, Sexism, Single dad!Ivar, Vikings, Vikings modern au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-04
Updated: 2019-08-04
Packaged: 2020-07-31 09:56:00
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20113216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnUnhealthyDoseOfAngst/pseuds/AnUnhealthyDoseOfAngst
Summary: The single father Ivar arranges for his daughter to meet one of her greatest idols; the paralympic swimmer Ayo. Ivar and Ayo are drawn to each other, but their very different lives make things complicated and puts them both in danger.“Ont krut förgås inte så lätt”: literally translates to “Bad gunpowder does not easily perish”. A Swedish saying which means that some torments/people will always haunt us, even if we try to get rid of them.





	Ont krut

**Author's Note:**

> As always, you are welcome to come talk to me over on tumblr (same username there). Remember that the fic warnings might be updated as this progresses. I will also add chapter warnings to every new chapter.
> 
> Chapter warnings: Name-calling, threats

Ivar fights the urge to grind his teeth. His vision is already blurring with an oncoming migraine. It should be illegal to be as stupid as the blonde man sitting across the table. As reckless.

“I understand your concerns, Halfdan, but your brother and I-” The door slams open, interrupting him.

“Daddy, daddy!” A voice calls out. Ivar relaxes the hand that automatically went for one of the knives. Sees Halfdan slide his own hand back out of his pocket. Tähti trots through the room, purple puffy skirt bouncing with each step. Ivar is quick to soften his features. He turns in his chair and leans down, blocking her as much as he can from Halfdan’s line of sight. Normally Ivar appreciates Hafldan’s ability to, just by looking at someone, make people feel like they had been marked for death. But as with many other things in his life, Tähti is the exception. She extends her left arm, the right one busy clutching a worn teddy bear.

“I’m a princess!” She exclaims with a joy Ivar thinks only a 3 year old can be capable of.

“You sure are, hjärtat.” He answers, placing a kiss on the pink plastic shell of her wrist and ignoring Halfdan’s snort. Seppo appears in the doorway only a few seconds later, seemingly out of breath.

“Sorry, sir.” He says as he strides through the room. Ivar holds a hand up to stop him.

“It’s fine.” It’s really not. Ivar had thought that the issue of Tähti outwitting and outrunning every single one of her babysitters would go away if said babysitters where former jaeger soldiers. Sometimes, but only sometimes, he thinks that Ubbe might have a point with his whole ‘get a babysitter that’s actually a babysitter’ speech. With a nod of his head, Ivar dismisses Seppo. He cups his daughter’s face with one hand.

“Why don’t you take Jojo and go sit on the couch, hm?” He asks “Show her some of Björnes magasin.” Tähti peers up at him with blue eyes.

“They’re cousins, daddy.”

“Really?” Her blonde hair bobs, strands of it falling into her face, as she nods a serious affirmative.

“It will be a family reunion then. Headphones on, love.” He straightens her dress and sends her off to the couch at the far end of the room. Ivar waits until he can hear Tähti talking to the stuffed bear, then turns to face the younger Halvarsson brother. 

“Harald and I worked together for a long time. You on the other hand have been-” Halfdan scoffs, briefly giving Ivar pause “-absent, since before I even took over. Forgive me for being reluctant to follow your every whim.”

“When my brother died, his part should have gone to me.” Halfdan persists. Ivar’s teeth violently clack together and a flash of pain shoots down through his right eye and into the jaw. When he speaks, he doesn’t even attempt to hide the exasperation in his voice.

“Normally, yes, but under the circumstances-”

“Instead it went to that little bitch he married as part of his mid-life crisis.” Ivar’s clenched fist impact with the table. Thankfully, Tähti doesn’t seem to notice.

“Careful, Halfdan,” Ivar warns in a low voice “I know you miss your brother but that is not an excuse to forget about the rules. Several attempts were made to contact you, all of which went unanswered. Astrid was here. Astrid proved herself capable.” Halfdan still doesn’t look scared, which only further proves the man’s stupidity. The pain is just a step or two below unbearable; Ivar wants to rub his temples, wants to claw out his eye. Neither of those are an option right now.

“If you want back in, you come to work for either me or her. Or one of the other jarls. Work your way back to the top.” That last part isn’t true, strictly speaking. Halfdan has never been on the top. He was more of a goon with an insane amount of luck and the right family name. But Ivar understands the value of occasionally sweet talking people. It’s like a cloud has settled over his right eye, blurring the vision, and it urges him to end the meeting.

“Think about it.” Halfdan nods, reluctantly so, and Ivar fakes a pleased smile.

“Now-” He grabs his cane, hauls himself onto his feet “if you’ll excuse me I have another meeting.”

**❄❄❄**

Entering the lobby, Ayo is greeted by a woman not much older than herself. A brunette who, by the look of it, is an athlete in her own right. 

“Astrid,” the reporter introduces herself while leaning forward in her wheelchair, hand stretched out. Ayo accepts it. Finds the palm callused. A tattoo of a green haired woman decorates the reporter's left forearm and intricate dark patterns cover both her neck and what is exposed of her chest. Sitting down, Ayo is careful not to let her feet get caught in the table. The chair is easily one of the most comfortable ones she’s ever sat in; one of the perks of meeting in a building made to be accessible.

"Coffee?" Astrid asks.

"Tea, please." Astrid pours hot water into the cup, then pushes a small wooden box filled with a variety of tea bags across the table. 

"Thanks." Ayo picks something called Mareld which smells of strawberries and stirs a cube of sugar into it.

“So,” Astrid pushes her glasses further up her nose “this will be your second time at the paralympics?” 

“Yes.” 

“Does it feel much different compared to the first time, back in Rio de Janeiro?” Ayo tilts her head, warming her hands around the cup of tea as she considers the question.

“It definitely feels like I have more insight into the competition now, you can’t really understand how big it is or what it’s like until you’ve experienced it.” Astrid writes at the speed of light, nodding to show that she’s listening.

"On the other hand I have never been to Japan so I’m sure it will still be a lot of new experiences." Astrid begins to ask something but is interrupted by her phone buzzing.

“Ah. Sorry, so sorry.” She apologizes while hurrying to silence it, throwing a quick glance at the screen.

“It’s okay.” Ayo assures her with a smile. Astrid dives back into her notes, and Ayo waits for the interview to get back on track.

**❄❄❄**

Astrid wishes that Ivar would keep his wine glasses on a lower shelf. Irma had let her inside the mansion as Ivar was busy. She could call for help from Irma but she is determined to accomplish this task on her own. Her fingertips tremble, just out of reach of the glass. A familiar, amused sounding, voice comes from behind her.

“I can take it down for you.” She glares for a moment, then sighs and waves him over. Ivar limps forward. He leans heavily on his cane as he plucks a glass from the shelf and brings it over to the table. Ivar takes the chair at the far end of the table, huffing a little as he sits down.

“Poor Astrid,” He sighs while pouring “whatever shall become of you?”

“Don’t get cocky,” She warns, tapping a finger against the side of the wheelchair “It’s temporary.” Ivar raises the glass for her to take. Grins widely as she takes a sip.

“I’m going to enjoy it while it lasts.”

“Shithead.” She retorts without any real hostility. Ivar lets her take another few sips before bringing up the reason for her visit.

“So you saw my text about Halfdan?” He asks.

“Mhm. Interrupted my interview.”

“Still doing those?” She shrugs.

“It’s a good cover, gives me a break from everything else” she moves the glass round and round, making the wine swirl “Halfdan’s just pissed that I put his brother on a leash for the last few months of his life.”

“No shit. He called you a bitch.”

“Oh no, my life is over.” Astrid responds drily. Ivar can’t help but smile at that. He knows that she can take Halfdan’s bursts of anger, and much more.

“We’ll keep an eye on him, now that he’s back.” Astrid nods in agreement with his statement. Ivar pushes the bottle her way and she accepts it.

“You staying for dinner? Tähti insists on eating in front of the tv so we can watch some program about preparations for the paralympics. We can talk about Iceland after.”

“Sure.” Ivar picks up his phone, already sending a text to let Mika know that there will be one extra for dinner. Astrid leans back, rubbing her face with one hand.

“You know,” She starts absent-mindedly “I interviewed someone on the team today.”

**❄❄❄**

Ayo tugs at the nylon and silk seal-in. Growing up, she used to hate fiddling with them until they were empty of air but in the end she’d realized the blisters that came from sloppiness was even worse. Her mom is playing wordfeud while waiting, purse in her lap. Finally, Ayo is satisfied that her legs are in place. Her mom puts the phone away and flashes a smile.

“Ready?” Before Ayo can answer, there’s a quick knock on the door and it swings open to reveal her brother.

"Sis?” He waggles a phone in his hand “There's a reporter wanting to talk to you, said you met earlier today." She accepts the phone, murmuring a ‘thank you’ before lifting it to her ear.

"Hello, this is Ayo." She recognizes the voice on the other end, confirming that it is the tattooed brunette from this morning.

"Hi, it's Astrid. From Parasportare."

“I remember. What’s up?” Ayo turns as she speaks, noticing the curious looks from her brother and mother.

"I kind of want to ask you a favour. My friend’s kid is a huge fan of yours." Ayo can feel her lips turn up into a smile.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, and her birthday is coming up so I was wondering if maybe she could get your autograph, on a card or something?"

“When’s her birthday?”

“September 22nd.” Ayo repeats the date out loud, mostly for herself but she sees her brother writing on a notepad.

“Yeah, I’ll come up with something for her. Can I reach you on this number?”

“Absolutely. Thank you so much.”

“Happy to help,” Ayo assures “I’ll call you.”


End file.
